Editor’s notice: Etihad Airways supplied Zach Griff with a free flight from Abu Dhabi to Chicago and a one-night resort keep. All opinions expressed are fully his and weren’t topic to assessment by the airline.
Airways prefer to throw huge events for inaugural flights, new planes and retrofitted cabins.
Nonetheless, it’s not usually that we see carriers spend hundreds of {dollars} towards the revealing of a revamped gentle product for its business-class cabins. (Mushy product refers to all of the gadgets that are not bodily connected to an plane, corresponding to glassware, duvets and pillows.)
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In current weeks, Etihad Airways has been teasing a serious reveal described as one thing “greater than what meets the attention” and that “one thing is about to vary.”
Effectively, the wait is lastly over, and no, the airline isn’t becoming a member of the Star Alliance or bringing again its Airbus A380s (at the least not but).
As an alternative, the flag service of Abu Dhabi is making huge upgrades to the onboard expertise — so huge that it determined to throw a launch get together (and invite TPG) to have fun the event.
The airline’s overhauled business-class gentle product is designed in partnership with Armani/Casa, marking the primary time this storied Italian design home is teaming up with an airline.
The collaboration, dubbed the “The Constellation Assortment,” attracts inspiration from the starry night time sky within the desert of the United Arab Emirates. You may discover a constant geometric sample all through the dishware and bedding that’s designed to resemble stars and constellations, Turky Alhammadi, head of product and hospitality, advised TPG on the launch occasion.
At first look, the brand new glassware, cutlery, dishware and bedding look fairly posh, with out being too over-the-top. An understated class permeates your complete assortment, making these items really feel like they might be a part of one’s residence.
My private favourite addition is the brand new salt and pepper holder. The coin-shaped design appears nice in inexperienced, and the embossed Georgio Armani brand provides an expensive contact. (Notice that these things aren’t souvenirs — Etihad will reuse all of the dishes and bedding after every flight.)
Along with the dishware, the gathering consists of three new items of bedding: a thick quilt, a luxurious pillow and a color-coordinated memory-foam mattress pad.
The brand new bedding felt gentle and splendid through the hands-on expertise on the media preview. The addition of a supportive mattress pad can be welcome information for these flying on among the airline’s longest flights to North America and Australia.
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ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
It wasn’t instantly clear if Etihad would introduce slippers or pajamas onboard its flights — two facilities that distinguish among the finest gentle merchandise provided in enterprise class.
Likewise, Etihad will proceed to supply amenity kits by Acqua di Parma in the interim, although I think about the long-term plan can be to introduce an Armani-branded package.
Whereas “The Constellation Assortment” begins rolling out on flights beginning in December, the airline will embark on a months-long mission to deliver the brand new partnership to all of its premium expertise touchpoints, centered at first on the airline’s lounges, Alhammadi advised TPG. “It is all about being constant,” he mentioned.
The revamped gentle product can be out there in all Etihad business-class cabins, no matter which plane kind is working the journey. Moreover, the service is not making adjustments to its first-class providing, which it nonetheless sells on just a few routes operated by a subset of Boeing 777s and 787 Dreamliners.
Together with the brand new crockery, Etihad will revamp the business-class menu to incorporate new meals choices and a refreshed tackle current favorites, such because the Arabic mezze. The airline displayed among the new decisions on a protracted desk on the media occasion, however it did not present printed descriptions of what every dish was.
That mentioned, if the staged demonstration appears something just like the completed product, then flyers will (actually and figuratively) be in for a deal with with the brand new meals choices.
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ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
Some aviation observers have been anticipating Etihad to make a “larger” announcement. Two widespread theories have been that the airline was becoming a member of the Star Alliance or that the airline was bringing again its Airbus A380 fleet from long-term storage.
Tony Douglas, group chief govt officer, acknowledged that some would possibly’ve overhyped the airline’s social media clues. “It has been fascinating listening to the quantity of countless hypothesis,” he mentioned, seemingly referencing the bloggers and observers who thought that the airline had one thing totally different to announce.
His deputies later defined that the service used social media teasers to get folks enthusiastic about this years-long mission led by the product and buyer expertise groups. It is a celebration of laborious work and plenty of lengthy days, Etihad staff advised TPG on the occasion.
Whereas it might be powerful to get enthusiastic about new dishware or bedding in your subsequent flight, Etihad hopes that this new assortment will complement the enhancements it has already made to the laborious product to in the end ship a “past Enterprise” onboard expertise.
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ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
Earlier this yr, the service inaugurated its Airbus A350-1000 fleet, which incorporates a brand-new business-class seat for the airline. Etihad personalized the highly-functional Collins Aerospace Tremendous Diamond product with snazzy sconces, eye-catching temper lighting and refined gold accents.
The cabin itself appears nice, and it represents a giant evolution ahead for the service’s premium expertise. The brand new cabin design mixed with the Armani/Casa partnership will make sitting on the pointy finish of one among Etihad’s latest jets an much more luxurious expertise.
Originally published at Irvine News HQ
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